


Shingeki no Kaiju

by breakdancingsigma (hetawholockvengerstuck)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Multi, Pacific Rim AU, Romance isn't the main focus, i won't kill everyone off, just some of them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2014-05-26
Packaged: 2018-01-26 14:03:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1690934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hetawholockvengerstuck/pseuds/breakdancingsigma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At ten years old, Eren Jaeger saw his mother killed by a Kaiju. Twelve years later, Eren and his sister Mikasa are ready to become full-fledged Rangers--and not a moment too soon. With the Kaiju increasing their attacks, humanity needs all Jaegers on the front lines.</p><p>And even that might not be enough.</p><p>(Pacific Rim AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to the Jaeger Program

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I'm really excited about this fic. I'm going to try to deviate from the movie plot as much as possible, but my knowledge of Jaegers and Kaiju comes from that. I'll do as much research as possible to make sure I've got everything right, but if anyone catches anything wrong, let me know!
> 
> A note about Hanji: I use female pronouns. I know that this bothers some people, so I'm just giving y'all a heads-up. I fully support any gender headcanons for Hanji, but my personal headcanon is that Hanji is female. 
> 
> Anyway, on to the story!

**_Pacific Coast, USA, 2016_ **

It's funny, the things that stick with you. Little, pointless details, like how someone parted their hair, or the smell of a grandparent's house

The first thing I can remember about that day was the way everyone reacted when they first saw the Kaiju. No one screamed, or ran, or even breathed. It was like someone had pushed the pause button on the universe. For a moment, people still held on to the belief that a Kaiju would never actually attack Shiganshina, that whatever was happening in the world, it couldn't possible affect us. We could get by unscathed for another year. _  
_

Then the Kaiju breathed out, and that was when reality hit.

Chaos, no matter where I looked. Getting shoved back and forth, side to side, by the crowd of people fleeing the area, sprinting desperately towards--what, exactly? Where could they go? 

I remember pushing against the crowd, towards the Kaiju, because that was where my house was. I can remember Mikasa and Armin calling out to me, but I can't remember the sprint towards my house, can't remember anything until I'm standing at the end of the street, watching the Kaiju's foot smash my house to smithereens, my mother's body flying through the air like a rag doll and landing with a sickening crunch, only to be crushed by debris. After that, my memories are too hazy to make any sense.

Mikasa filled me in on what happened: a lone Jaeger, single-pilot, as they all were at that time, came to the rescue, slaying the Kaiju after a long, harrowing battle. As relief helicopters flooded the area, the pilot had emerged from the cockpit, blood pouring from his nose, and collapsed onto the ground ten feet away from where we knelt. We learned later that his name was Hannes. He died that day, his brain overloaded from drifting with the Jaeger on his own.

Mikasa said the pilot was smiling when he died. I'm not sure why she told me that, but like I said--it's the little things that stick with you.

* * *

_**Nagasaki Shatterdome, Japan, 2028** _

It was twelve years since my mother's death. Twelve years to the day. I couldn't help but think that it was a fitting day for me to get assigned to a Jaeger.

Ever since that day, the only thing I wanted was to pilot a Jaeger and fight Kaijus. I vowed to killed them all, until they couldn't hurt anyone ever again. My dream almost didn't come true--for a few years, during a lull in Kaiju attacks, the Jaeger program was shut down, and people took to building walls to keep the Kaijus out. Then, four years ago, the Kaiju began attacking again, and the walls were breached. The Jaegers were powered up again, but there were fewer recruits, and fewer manufacturers of Jaegers.

But sitting on my bed that morning, all I could think about was what would happen. I tried to imagine what sort of Jaeger we would be assigned to. I knew Mikasa wanted a Mark-5, but I was a bit intimidated by the newer models; unlike Mikasa, I couldn't figure out the controls. 

I was jolted out of reverie by a knock at my door. I expected it to be Mikasa, but when I checked through the peephole, I didn't recognize the person.

When I opened the door, I didn't get the chance to speak; the woman grabbed my arm and pumped it up and down in an overenthusiastic handshake. "Hi! I'm Hanji Zoe! It's nice to meet you!"

"Hanji...Zoe?" The name was familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I'd heard it before. "It's nice to meet you. I'm--"

"Oh, I know who you are! You're Eren Jaeger, half of our newest pilot duo! Speaking of which, where's your sister? We need to go! I don't want the helicopter to leave without us!"

"Wait, helicopter?"

The door across the hall opened, and Mikasa emerged, fully dressed and wide awake. "What's going on out here?"

Hanji let go of my arm and tried to grab Mikasa's hand, but Mikasa yanked it away before she could do so. 

"Hi! I'm Hanji Zoe! You're Mikasa Ackerman, right? Great! Are you two all packed up? We're on a tight schedule!"

"Why would we be packed up?" Mikasa asked.

"Didn't they tell you? You're being transferred to the Hong Kong Shatterdome!"

" _What?_ " I yelled. A few more doors opened, and people glared at me. In a quieter voice, I said, "You mean  _the_ Hong Kong Shatterdome?"

"The one and only!"

"No one told us about this," Mikasa said, suspicious.

"Well, hurry up and pack! There's a storm coming in, and we need to get out of here before it hits!"

* * *

**_Hong Kong Shatterdome_ **

The helicopter landed amid pouring rain, and I was soaked the minute I stepped outside, even with a raincoat. Mikasa pullsed her scarf up around her nose and mouth, and Hanji tried to shield her glasses from the rain, with little success. 

"There should be...aha! Over here, Petra!" 

A few minutes later, an umbrella was held over our heads by a pretty young woman. She smiled at us and said, "Hello, Eren, Mikasa. I'm glad the two of you could make it."

"Hey, what about me?" Hanji asked.

Petra ignored Hanji and motiond for us to start walking. "Let's get inside, and then we can talk about your Jaeger. Oh, and Shadis wants to meet with you."

We crowded into an elevator, and Petra shook out the umbrella before folding it up. Just before the doors closed, someone dashed in, squeaking out a "Sorry!"

"No problem, Arlert," Hanji said.

Before he even turned around, I knew who he was. I hadn't seen him in twelve years, but there was no mistaking it.

"Armin!"

His eyes widened. "Eren! Mikasa! You're here!" With a grin, he launched himself at us, pulling us in for a hug.  

"It's been forever. How's it going, Armin?" I asked.

"Pretty good." He let go of us and looked down at his feet. "I've missed you guys."

"Missed you too, man. What are you doing here?"

Armin smiled again. "I'm a backup Ranger! Mostly I just help the scientists, but I made it through training, so technically, I'm a pilot!"

Mikasa's expression matched the concern I was feeling. "Armin, tell me you haven't been going on missions."

"Don't worry." He looked crestfallen. "I don't actually have a partner, so I can't pilot."

"Seriously?" I asked. "How did you get here without a partner?"

My partner in the Jaeger Academy resigned after graduation. I was supposed to go to the Sydney Shatterdome, but they sent me here instead. I've been on the research team ever since."

I heard a ding; while we had been catching up, the elevator had descended. We exited the elevator, saying goodbye to Armin, and Hanji showed us through the halls until we reached an office. Petra pressed the intercom button and announced our presence; moments later, the door swung open. A tall, bald man stepped out and looked me up and down.

"They're sending us the good ones, finally."

He didn't introduce himself; he didn't have to. Everyone knew about Marshal Keith Shadis, the first person to test-run a Jaeger and one of the greatest pilots of the early Jaeger program. 

"It's an honor to meet you, sir!" I said.

He ignored me. "Around here, we refer to people by their last names. That's going to be a bit of a problem with you, Jaeger."

"Then just call me Eren, sir!"

"I was getting to that!" Shadis handed Petra a clipboard. "Ral, take them to their Jaeger. And if I hear that you kids caused any trouble, you'll wish you were never born. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

_**Shatterdome Hangar, Hong Kong** _

"You'll be piloting a Mark-3," Petra said, stopping in front of a Jaeger. "I'm sorry we don't have anything newer for you, but it's unused and in mint condition."

"It's perfect," I said, breathless. I'd seen lots of Jaegers, in training videos and in newspapers, but there was something special about the dark red Mark-3. I was desperate to take it for a spin, but Petra had already explained to us that we wouldn't get the chance to pilot until the next day.

"You still need to name her. Any ideas?" Petra clickeds a pen and held it over her clipboard.

Mikasa and I exchanged glances. After receiving a nod, I turned back to Petra and said, "Carla."

"Just Carla? You're sure?"

"Absolutely."

Petra wrote the name down before leading us up a few flights of stairs near the side of the hangar. She stopped at a balcony, eye-level with the closest Jeager, and pointed at it. "This one's mine. We called her  _Leviathan._ Isn't she beautiful?"

 _Leviathan_ was also a Mark-3, painted forest green with white detailing. Petra looked at it with pride.

"Oi, Petra! Who're the newbies?" A man joined Petra at the railing, looking over his shoulder at me and Mikasa. "Wait, don't tell me. It's that Jaeger kid and his sister!"

"Wow, Auruo, I'm impressed," Petra said, her voice laced with sarcasm. "You actually listened to me at breakfast?"

"I always listen to you at breakfast!"

"Sure you do. Anyway, Eren, Mikasa, meet my co-pilot, Auruo Bossard."

 They made an odd pair, really. Besides the height difference, there was the way they interacted. Even from the short dialogue they'd just had, I could tell they argued more than they agreed.

Auruo squinted at us and struck an odd pose. "You squirts are gonna need to bring your A-game, or you'll be left in our dust!"

Petra elbowed him in the side. Hard.

 

* * *

 _ **A short time** **later...**_

We stood on another balcony, this one closer to the exit. A few Jaegers had come in from practice runs, and Petra was pointing out the crews as they exited their machines.

"Jean Kirschstein and Marco Bodt. They've defeated seven Kaiju in  _Sina Rose_." Petra pointed to another Mark-3, this one unpainted except for the chest, where the silhouette of what appeared to be a queen was painted in great detail. 

Another couple emerged from a Mark-5. "That's the only one of it's kind here, you know. Transferred from Tokyo a few years back. That's Erwin Smith and Mike Zacharius. They've got over a dozen kills."

Another Jaeger entered the hangar. "What the hell?" I blurted.

Petra laughed. "That's how most people react when they first see  _Titan Epsilon._ There aren't many of them left, since they're so hard to pilot." _  
_

"But what _is_ it?" I asked.

"It's a Mark-4 Chinese Jaeger," Mikasa said next to me. "Don't you remember that lesson, Eren? The teacher only mentioned it briefly, because there weren't any eligible pilots for that model in our class."

"Wait, is that the one with three pilots?"

"Yep!" Petra nodded to  _Titan Epsilon_. "We're lucky to have one in our possession, and even luckier to have a suitable pilot trio. They were stationed in Seattle prior to their stay here--"

"You're  _joking_." I turned to Mikasa. "She said  _Seattle_. You know what that means?"

"Eren, you're being rude."

"It's okay," Petra assured her. "You've heard of them, then?"

"Of course!" I could recall that lesson like it was yesterday. "Bertolt Hoover, Reiner Braun, and Annie Leonhardt. A record eighteen kills!"

"They're up to twenty-two now, actually. They're in high demand for all sorts of Kaiju incidents these days. And, actually, their record's been broken for a few years." Petra pointed to a Jaeger unlike anything I'd ever seen before. "The only Mark-6 in existence. You've already met one-half of the pilot duo."

My jaw dropped. Mikasa placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "Eren, control yourself. You look like you're about to explode."

"Mikasa, don't you get it? That's it! That's  _Wings of Freedom_!" My enthusiasm at seeing the legendary Jaeger was dimmed somewhat as I realized..."Wait a minute. Petra, I thought  _Wings of Freedom_ was a Mark-5?"

"That's the cover story. Since there's only one Mark-6, the Pan-Pacific Coalition decided to keep it a secret for as long as possible, to discourage the media from meddling. You know how it is: a new Jaeger model comes out, it ends up touring the world as an exhibit, and  _then_ it's allowed to do battle."

The last part of Petra's explanation was lost to me; I had remembered why Hanji Zoe's name had sounded so familiar. I slapped a hand to my head. "I'm such an idiot! How could I forget?  _Hanji Zoe_. Damn it, Mikasa, I'm so stupid!"

"Sometimes, yes."

The fact that I'd managed to forget the name of such a renowned Ranger was a testimony to just how much I'd had on my mind. Everyone who was anyone knew about Hanji Zoe and Levi Ackerman, pilots of the _Wings of Freedom_ , with twenty-seven Kaiju kills--and that was just their solo record. They'd assisted in an additional ten kills at last count.

I'd met one of my idols, and I hadn't even realized it.

Petra looked at Mikasa. "I've been meaning to ask. Are you related to Levi?"

Mikasa's expression soured. "Only by blood."

"He's not a bad guy--"

"Only. By. Blood."

Petra dropped the subject and went back to pointing out pilots. "Those two over there are Erd Jinn and Gunter Schultz. They went to Jaeger Academy with me and Auruo." She lowered her finger to indicate a couple who were goofing off, making fake ninja poses in their gear. "Sasha Braus and Connie Springer. Recent transfers from the Siberian Shatterdome, which is ironic. Neither of them is Russian."

Finally, Petra motioned to what looked like a giant metal bucket on top of a vaguely humanoid robot body. "That's  _Europa Historia."_ _  
_

"What's a Russian Mark-1 doing here?" Mikasa asked. "I thought those were all decommissioned."

"All but this one," Petra corrected. "It actually _was_ decommissioned, and it spent time in India as a showpiece. Then it was sold to the Norwegian government shortly before the Bay of Bengal incident. It's the only surviving Jaeger from the area."

* * *

 

Mikasa and I both remembered the Bay of Bengal incident. We'd just joined the Jaeger Academy; our professor was giving us a lecture on the history of Kaiju attacks.

"Sir?" A South African girl named Mina Carolina had raised her hand. "Is it true that there have been Kaiju attacks in Africa, as well?"

The professor had laughed. "Miss Carolina, that's preposterous. The Kaiju emerge from a rift in the Pacific Ocean."

"But could they reach Africa?"

"If you're worried about your family, you needn't be. No Kaiju has ever reached Africa." He laughed again. "In fact, there has never been a Kaiju sighting anywhere past Malaysia, and there never will be!"

Oh, the irony. Less than a minute later, the principal had rushed in. "There's a Category-III Kaiju attacking Chennai, India!"

The look on the professor's face was priceless.

* * *

My fists clenched over the railing of the balcony. I gritted my teeth at the memory. So many people had died that day, so many preventable deaths. No one could figure out why a Kaiju made it so far, or why it had bypassed heavily-populated cities to get to Chennai. There should have been Jaegers stationed to intercept the monster.

"Eren." Mikasa's hand covered one of mine and brought me back to the present. I only noticed I'd been growling when I stopped. I looked at Petra; she wore a concerned expression. I tried to smile reassuringly, but it came out strained, and probably looked more like a grimace. 

"I'm fine."

Petra still looked uncertain, but she continued: "Anyway, a couple of years ago, we got a team that actually turned down one of our Mark-3 Jaegers. It turns out, they were educated in a small-scale, one-room branch of the Jaeger Academy. In Norway."

"They have Jaeger training in Europe?"

"Apparently. Not many people actually attend those schools, though, because the Kaiju threat isn't immediate. But these two girls were determined to enter the Jaeger program. The only models they had to practice with were decommissioned Mark-1's. We put in a request, did a systems check, and had  _Europa Historia_ up and running for them in no time." _  
_

"Interesting name for Russian-Norwegian-whatever Jaeger," I said.

"Ymir and Christa named it. It was originally called  _Cherno Gamma_ , but after what happened to  _Cherno Alpha_ and  _Beta_..."

I nodded. "That makes sense, I guess."

Petra turned to go. "You'll definitely get a chance to meet everyone soon, but we need to give you a tour of the Shatterdome. Don't worry, you'll be seeing a lot of these Jaegers."

At the time, I saw that as a good thing. Looking back, I know what she really meant by those words.


	2. Chasing the Rabbit

**_The next day..._  **

The first thing I saw when I woke up was not the ceiling of my new room. It wasn't a wall, or even a pillow. No, it was a pair of faces, staring at me with huge grins.

I'll admit it: I screamed. It wasn't even a manly scream. On the bright side, it scared the two people standing over me, and they jumped back into the hallway just as Mikasa's door slammed open. 

Let me just say, Mikasa in the morning is a scary sight. Angry, half-awake Mikasa? It's like looking death in the face and seeing your own demise in gruesome detail. It came as no surprise when the other two dropped to their knees and started begging for forgiveness.

"What's going on?" Mikasa asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. 

"Good question." Now that I had a chance to see their faces at a reasonable distance, I recognized Connie Springer and Sasha Braus. That didn't clear anything up, though. "What the hell were you doing in my room?"

They both jumped up and turned back to me.

"We're sorry about waking you up!" the girl said. "We just had to see if it was true!"

"Yeah!" the boy said. "I can't believe it. Dr. Jaeger's son is here! We're gonna be working with the son of  _Grisha Jaeger_! _"_ _  
_

* * *

Perhaps I should mention my dad's role in all of this.

See, when the Kaiju first attacked, humanity responded to them as they would any other threat: tanks, missiles, bombs, you name it. Everything short of atomic warfare. It worked--for a bit. That solution was a big drain on resources and took way too much time to defeat even a single Kaiju. 

Then my dad came up with this idea. He'd got me a robot action figure, and was watching me play with it, and...well, one thing lead to another, and he traveled to the United Nations to propose his plan. After that, he spent all of his time abroad, helping to develop stronger robots. 

What I'm trying to say is, it was no accident that my last name was the name of the machines we used to fight Kaiju.

* * *

"We've read your profile, and you're just as awesome as I thought you would be! Top scores in your class? I wish we'd been able to pull that off!" The guy elbowed his partner.

"Thanks, uh..."  _Shit, shit, which one is which? Wait, Petra said they transferred from Russia, right? And Sasha is short for Alexsander, so..._ "Sasha?"

The guy--who must have been Connie, if his reaction was anything to go by--grabbed his head with both hands and said, "Why does everyone do that?"

"Because your name is a girl's name!" Sasha said.

"It's short for Conrad!  _Conrad!_ "

Down the hall, another door opened, and Jean Kirschstein popped his head out. "Goddammit, Springer, how many times? People are trying to sleep!"

"Jean, you're yelling..."

A scary grin spread over both Sasha's and Connie's faces as they exchanged glances. 

"Hey, Kirschstein!" Sasha said. "Is that Marco we hear in your  _personal room?"_

Jean's face turned red instantly, which did nothing to make him look less intimidating; if anything, he just looked angrier. "Shut up, Potato Girl!"

"That was one time!"

" _Is something wrong?"_  

Connie, Sasha, and Jean stiffened immediately at the sound of Marshal Shadis's voice. The man stood just behind Connie, his head blocking one of the ceiling lights and casting an eerie shadow over his face. Sasha cringed away, but Connie seemed to be frozen with fear.

"We're sorry, Marshal!" Sasha cried, clasping her hands together. "We didn't mean to wake everyone up, we just wanted to see the new pilots and then Jean started yelling at us--"

"I don't give a Kaiju's steaming dump, Braus! I have told you  _numerous times_  to keep your voice down inside the Shatterdome unless there is an emergency! Are you hearing me, Springer?" At this, Shadis reached out and lifted Connie up by his ears, eliciting a squeal of pain.

"I hear you, sir! We're sorry! We're very, very sorry!"

"You will be if I have to deal with you again! The two of you are going to spend the week cleaning dishes!" 

"Yes, sir!"

Shadis dropped Connie, and the two troublemakers scampered off somewhere. "Eren, Ackerman, as long as you're awake, you might as well proceed to the labs for a debriefing. And get some breakfast on the way."

"Yes, sir!" I said.

Shadis nodded, turned to leave, and then paused. "Oh, and Kirschstein? Tell Bodt to get some pants on and get back to his own room. If you two want to spend quality time together, do it somewhere far, far away. There aren't walls thick enough to muffle the sounds that you two make, and it's fucking disturbing."

In that moment, Jean was the definition of mortified. He glared at me--as if this was all  _my_ fault--and slammed the door.

* * *

_**Lab B, Hong Kong Shatterdome** _

"...But recently, the Kaiju have been showing new abilities, and the Serizawa Scale has been adjusted accordingly. Any questions?"

I had exactly zero questions. We'd learned all of this at the Jaeger Academy. Still, Hanji looked so excited that I didn't have the heart to tell her no.

Mikasa had no such qualms. "You have no new information, then?"

"Well, no, not in so many words...but let me go back and explain it all, with some of my opinions!"

Honestly, the way Hanji went on about Kaiju anatomy and events, it was easy to forget she was a pilot. I couldn't help feeling she'd missed her calling.

"Miss Hanji!" The chief LOCCENT officer, Moblit, came up to us. "Shouldn't you be preparing for the training exercise?"

"You worry to much, Moblit," Hanji said, waving him away. "I've got plenty of time to give my speech--"

"Miss Hanji!" This time it was Armin who approached us, wearing a white lab coat that looked huge on him. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but the marshal is furious! All three of you were supposed to be suiting up twenty minutes ago!"

"Shit! Moblit, why'd you let me talk so long? Come on, Eren, Ackerman, we've got to go!"

Hanji and Mikasa hurried out of the room, but I hung back a bit. "What's the long face for, Armin?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry, it's nothing."

If I hadn't been so excited about the upcoming test run, I would have realized that it  _wasn't_ nothing. As it was, though...

"Okay. Hey, I'll come down after dinner and we can catch up."

"Sounds good!"

When I left, he was still standing in front of the preserved remains of the latest Kaiju.

* * *

**_Hangar, Hong Kong Shatterdome_  **

After being outfitted in our drivesuits, Mikasa and I were ushered into the hangar for the second time in as many days, this time to test out our Jaeger. Standing at the base of  _Carla_ was Shadis, Jean, Marco, Sasha, Connie, Levi, and Hanji.

"You're late!" Shadis barked. 

"We're very sorry, sir," Mikasa said, bowing her head. "It won't happen again."

"Be sure that it doesn't! Now get up there!"

I looked past the marshal at the other pilots. "Not to complain, sir, but why are there so many people accompanying a test run? Isn't one or two customary?"

Shadis snorted. "Springer and Braus begged me to let them go along. As long as it gets them out of the way, I'll do almost anything."

"So can we have extra days off?"

"I said  _almost_. Now get in your Jaegers!"

He didn't have to tell me twice. In no time, Mikasa and I were fitting ourselves into the con-pod.

Mikasa looked over at me. "Ready, Eren?"

"You know it!"

The Pons system in our helmets fitted themselves; the spinal clamp sent a brief jolt through my back; the relay gel flooded our helmets and then vanished. Finally, a woman's voice--the Jaeger A.I.-- filled the con-pod. " _Initiating launch operations,_ Carla."

In the next moment, my mind was filled with memories that weren't mine. I saw a man and woman, with a little girl, picking berries and enjoying the sun. I saw knitting lessons, and the woman tattooing a pattern into the girl's arm. I saw a struggle, three men attacking the man and woman, the little girl watching as her parents were murdered, not resisting when the men grabbed her. 

Then I saw my own parents, and myself, a little boy again, wrapping a scarf around the little girl. I saw happier days, spent with my mother, cooking and cleaning and playing at the park near our house.

Then  _that_ memory surfaced.

I couldn't let it go. Against my will, my mind focused on the little details, the splintered wood, the smoke in the air, the sounds and smells...

I was vaguely aware of someone calling my name, but it's drowned out by the roar of the Kaiju, the screams, the sirens...

" _EREN!_ "

With a jolt, I opened my eyes, breathing heavily and slick with sweat. Mikasa's eyes were wide with concern; I focused on them as my breathing evened out.

"What's wrong, Ackerman?" Levi's voice came over the comlink.

"Is he chasing the rabbit?" Jean's voice followed.

"Affirmative." That was Moblit. "Marshal, should we postpone the test run?"

"No!" I gasped. "No, I'm fine. I can do this!"

"Eren, you need to rest." Marco's voice. 

"Dude, I thought you were supposed to be an ace at this!" said Jean. "What happened?"

"I said I can do this!" I yelled. "Just give me another chance!"

There was a pause, and then I heard Moblit say, "Okay, let's give it a shot."

I closed my eyes as we drifted again. This time, when the memory came back, I was prepared, and let it flash by me just like all the others.

I'd seen all of them before, when we'd practiced drifting at the Jaeger Academy. It no longer scared me when I saw the murder of Mikasa's parents, and I no longer cringed when Mikasa got the tattoo. But the fresher memories--my own mother's death, for example--still hurt. And I was always aware that I played a bigger part in Mikasa's life than she did in mine. 

I was furious with myself for latching onto a memory like a novice. I couldn't be the only pilot there who'd experienced Random Access Brain Impulse Triggers, but the last time I'd had one, I'd just started at the Academy.

This time, the drift was successful. My breathing was back under control, and although the drying sweat was uncomfortable, I could deal with it. Mikasa still seemed worried, so I sent soothing thoughts her way, utilizing Headspace rather than vocal communication. 

"Is everyone ready to go?" Levi asked.

"I was born ready!" Connie and Sasha said in tandem.

"All good here!" said Marco.

"Eren?" Hanji asked. "How's your head?"

"I'm fine! Let's do this already!"

* * *

_**Later that** **day...**_

At dinner, I got my food only to discover that a large crowd had formed around Mikasa. When I approached, Gunter quickly stood and offered his chair before hovering behind me. I took a few bites of food, waiting for the inevitable.

I didn't have to wait long. Reiner finished his own meal and said, "So, Eren. Heard you chased the rabbit on your test run. Need a nightlight or something for later?"

"Don't be rude..." Bertholdt murmured.

"And there's nothing wrong with using a nightlight!" Petra huffed.

"How many times do I have to tell you guys?" I sighed. "I'm fine. It was a freak accident."

"We can't afford any accidents," Levi said, leaning against the wall. "I have no idea what triggered you, but we were fucking lucky."

I knew what he was referring to, and I agreed. Usually, when a pilot chases the rabbit, the Jaeger responds to the actions the person takes in the memory. What's worse, the co-pilot is caught in the memory, too, unable to take control. The memory I'd focused on had been mere seconds away from the part where I'd run towards the house; if Mikasa hadn't snapped me out of it, I would have sprinted our Jaeger through the wall of the hangar and smashed right past Erd and Gunter's Jaeger.  _  
_

"I promise, it won't happen again."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Marco smiling at me. "Don't feel too bad about it, Eren. You should have seen me on our test run. We had to postpone it seven times because I kept chasing the rabbit. Jean was so fed up with me by the time we actually got out of the hangar!"

"And then you guys celebrated that night," Ymir said. "Very loudly. It was hard to sleep."

Jean buried his face in his hands, but Marco just laughed. "Sorry."

Reiner reached over and patted me on the back, hard. "It happens to the best of us, Eren. Annie had trouble with it, too. Still does, occasionally, but Bertl and I've gotten used to overpowering her."

Annie elbowed Reiner in the gut so fast that it almost seemed as if she hadn't moved; the only evidence of her attack was Reiner, doubled up, clutching his sides and grunting in pain. "You said you wouldn't talk about that."

"You guys have good reason, though," Connie said. "I mean, after what happened with Knifehead..."

Reiner and Bertholdt stiffened, and Annie glared at Connie until he shrunk back in his seat. "We don't talk about that."

"I was just--"

"We. Do Not. Talk. About. That."

* * *

The minute we stepped into Lab B, I knew something was wrong. 

For one, the lights were all flickering eerily. For another, there was a Kaiju brain on a cart, hooked up to some weird machine; at the foot of the cart was a slumped figure, curled up so all I could see was the lab coat and the spasming body. 

"Holy shit...Mikasa, go get help!"

"Who should I get?"

"Shadis, Hanji, Armin...I don't know, just get  _someone!"_  

As Mikasa dashed out of the lab, I scrambled to the shaking person's side and roughly flipped them onto their back. Immediately, I wished I hadn't because it felt like dinner was trying to make a second appearance.

It was Armin, but he looked awful. He had some sort of makeshift Pons on his head, his eyes rolled back; I wrenched the Pons off his head and he gasped for breath, collapsing against the cart and sending it rolling away. I caught him and propped him up. 

"Armin! Hey, Armin, look at me. How many fingers?"

"W-w-what? Eren, what is...?"

He managed to sit up, but other than that, he still looked like he'd been through hell. One of his eyes was thoroughly bloodshot, and there was blood dripping from his nose, staining his white lab coat. He was still shaking when Mikasa returned, followed by Shadis, Hanji, and a medical team.

Hanji's eyes grew wide. "He didn't..."

"What the  _fuck_ were you thinking, Arlert?" Shadis yelled. "You complete imbecile!"

"Yeah!" Hanji chimed in. " _I_ wanted to do that!"

"No one was supposed to do that!" Shadis said. "I expressly forbade you from doing that!"

Armin was still bleeding, and if anything he looked paler. "We have to do something!" I said. "Whatever he just did, he still deserves medical treatment, right?"

"Deserves?" Shadis stepped forward and yanked Armin up by the arm. "This  _idiot_ just attempted to drift with a Kaiju brain!"

"Didn't...attempt...was...success...ful..."

Hanji leaped forward and pulled on Shadis's arm. "He might have important information!"

"I do." Armin tried to stand on his own, but as soon as Shadis released him, he crumpled to the floor again. Mikasa rushed forward to catch him.

"Then spit it out."

"The adaptations that they're going through aren't random. The ones we're seeing are specifically bred to combat the Jaegers. They're testing us, trying to see what method will subdue us the best. Don't you see, they're only getting started!"

"We knew all of that."

"No, you don't get it. We've had a few double events, right? Those are going to become more common, I'm sure of it. If I could just find a new brain, I'd be able to find out more..."

"Marshal, before you say no," Hanji said," consider this. Arlert's on the brink of a major discovery. He's just proved a human  _can_ drift with a Kaiju, so we're halfway there."

Shadis regarded Armin. "I want Zoe, Arlert, Smith and Zacharias in my office, now. Eren, Ackerman, get some rest."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

**_00:12 hours, Hong Kong Shatterdome_  **

I was awoken my an alarm that I knew all too well.

"Eren!" Jean Kirschstein was pounding on my door, it seemed. "Get your lazy ass out of bed, we've got a double event!"

I scrambled up, pulled on warmer clothes, and joined the mad rush to the hangar. Marshal Shadis was already waiting for us.

"I want  _Sina Maria, Leviathan, Recon Rosie,_ and  _Wings of Freedom_ fired up and ready to go, ASAP! All other pilots on standby! We're down one team, but we'll show those Kaijus to the gates of hell!"

The assembled crews and workmen cheered. Mikasa and I exchanged a glance.  _Who was missing?_  

All we could do, at the moment, was find a seat in the control room and watch the monitors as the four Jaegers were carried by helicopter to the bay and dropped into the water.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of stuff happening. But hey, you get a battle next chapter! Yay!


End file.
